1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of medical devices and more invasive surgical instruments and other medical treatments into a patient's body.
2. Description of the Related Art
Medical procedures have advanced to stages where less invasive or minimally invasive surgeries, diagnostic procedures and exploratory procedures have become desired and demanded by patients, physicians, and various medical industry administrators. To meet these demands, improved medical devices and instrumentation have been developed, such as cannulas or micro-cannulas, medical introducers, vacuum assisted biopsy apparatus, and other endoscopic related devices.
In the field of tissue biopsy, minimally invasive biopsy devices have been developed that require only a single insertion point into a patient's body to remove one or more tissue samples. One such biopsy device incorporates a “tube-within-a-tube” design that includes an outer piercing needle having a sharpened distal end and a lateral opening that defines a tissue receiving port. An inner cutting member is slidingly received within the outer piercing needle, which serves to excise tissue that has prolapsed into the tissue receiving port. A vacuum is used to draw the excised tissue into the tissue receiving port and aspirates the excised tissue from the biopsy site once severed.
Exemplary “tube-within-a-tube” biopsy devices are disclosed in pending U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 09/707,022 and 09/864,031, which are owned by the assignee of the present invention. Among other features, the exemplary biopsy devices can be used in conjunction with Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). This compatibility is due to the fact that many of the components of the biopsy devices are made of materials that do not interfere with operation of MRI apparatus or are otherwise compatible therewith. It is desirable to perform biopsies in conjunction with MRI because it is currently the only non-invasive visualization modality capable of defining the margins of a tumor.
While the exemplary MRI compatible biopsy devices have proven effective in operation, in some procedures it is desirable to create a pathway to the biopsy site for precise introduction of the biopsy device and other medical treatments into the patient. For these and other reasons, an MRI compatible medical introduction system is desirable for use with minimally invasive biopsy devices, such as those employing a “tube-within-a-tube” design.